POS1442-HPR EULAR Recommendations For Patient Education In People With Inflammatory Rheumatic And Musculoskeletal Disease: 2025 Update

Background:
Since the publication of the 2015 EULAR recommendations for patient education in inflammatory arthritis, advancements in telehealth and a growing emphasis on person-centred healthcare aimed at addressing health inequalities have influenced the delivery of patient education. These developments, supported by new research evidence, underscored the need for an update and allowed for expanding the recommendations to encompass a broader range of inflammatory rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases (iRMDs).

Objectives:
To update the EULAR recommendations for patient education in iRMDs.

Methods:
In accordance with the EULAR Standardised Operating Procedures, a taskforce comprising 25 members from 13 European countries was convened. A systematic literature review (SLR) was conducted, including studies of people with rheumatoid arthritis, spondyloarthritis, psoriatic arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus, systemic sclerosis, vasculitis, and gout. Through a combination of three online and one in-person meetings, the taskforce utilised data from the SLR (including 115 RCTs) with their collective personal and professional experience in patient education to develop the updated recommendations, including guidance on implementation priorities. The level of agreement (LoA) of taskforce members was electronically assessed anonymously (0–10 scale).

Results:
Two overarching principles and eight recommendations were agreed, with four recommendations prioritised for implementation (Table 1). The overarching principles were updated to align with the revised definition of patient education. Seven existing recommendations were retained with minor edits and one new recommendation (#3) was developed. The recommendations emphasise the importance of patient education in optimising self-management, health, and wellbeing throughout the disease course (#1, #2). They offer guidance on developing patient education (#3, #4), emphasize the need for delivery by trained healthcare professionals and/or patients (#5), and recommend delivery using different formats (#6) tailored to individual needs (#7). Evaluating the effectiveness of patient education is also encouraged (#8). Agreements within the taskforce were high, with 96–100% scoring an LoA of ≥8.

Conclusion:
The updated EULAR recommendations for patient education in iRMDs offer evidence-based, consensus-driven, up-to-date guidance on patient education for people with iRMDs, including prioritised implementation strategies intended to inform and empower people with iRMDs.